Lemon Drops and Chocolate Catnip
by TheOnlyTrueMagic
Summary: Albus and Minerva take a walk around Hogsmeade and get a few sweet surprises.


**Disclaimer****: I don't own it, and I am making no money off of it. Please don't sue me.**

**AN****: This story is AU in that Albus and Minerva are married. It takes place during the early years of the "Trio Era." The prompt for this story was "Albus and Minerva take a walk around the neighborhood." Since they live at Hogwarts, Hogsmeade is as close to a neighborhood as I could come up with. I have invented the chocolate catnip.**

When Albus suggested that Minerva take a walk with him around the village of Hogsmeade, Minerva groaned inwardly. She had told her husband that she really needed to finish her grading, but she may as well have been talking to a stone wall. When Albus got an idea in his head, there was no stopping him.

Minerva was also well aware that Albus's favorite store, Honeydukes, had just gotten a new shipment of lemon drops. She despised the place, as she didn't care for candy (they didn't carry ginger newts), and Albus always ended up carrying on like a little boy. By the end of the visit, Minerva's face would be Gryffindor red. She loved her husband dearly, but his behavior was enough to drive her mad sometimes.

"Really, Albus, can't it wait?" she pleaded, knowing it was useless but not wanting Albus to think she was a pushover.

"Come now, my dear. You've been grading for hours. You need a break."

Minerva sighed, her stern lips unsmiling even as amusement crept reluctantly into her green eyes.

"Oh very well, a short walk around the village only because I simply must get this grading done." His blue eyes twinkled, and Minerva knew she'd lost. She could never resist those eyes.

It was a Saturday, but neither of them was on escort duty with the students. They were able to walk around Hogsmeade without worrying about keeping their eyes peeled for teenagers making mischief. Albus had made sure that Minerva's arm was tucked securely in his own, and Minerva found herself admitting that a short excursion hadn't been a bad idea. It was nice to be a regular couple occasionally, and she almost laughed at the amazed looks on some of the students' faces as they realized, perhaps for the first time, that their transfiguration professor and their headmaster were married.

That meant that they were also…well, none of the students wanted to take that thought any further. It was bad enough walking in on their parents doing **it**. Students didn't want to think that their teachers were even capable of doing **it**, much less enjoying **it**. Minerva did laugh at that, and Albus, with her nod, read the thought from her mind, laughing too. And just because he could, he pulled Minerva against him and kissed her in front of those same students, leaving them with open mouths and Minerva blushing in a way that still made Albus's heart race.

Inevitably, they arrived at Honeydukes. The shop owner looked up as they walked in, and his face lit up when he saw the headmaster.

"Ah, Albus, I'm so glad you came today! We just got a huge shipment of your favorite lemon drops in. Which size would you like: small, medium, large, or humongous?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Albus asked. With an ear-splitting grin, Albus pointed to the humongous size and reached for his money bag. Minerva sighed in fond exasperation as the store owner called his assistant to help with the huge bag.

"Albus, where do you intend to store that many lemon drops? How do you even intend to get it back to Hogwarts? It's too heavy for an owl, and I'm not about to parade through the streets of Hogsmeade with you levitating a bag big enough to hide a first-year!"

Minerva knew that Albus would have his way in the end, but she had to keep up appearances. Just as a joyous Albus was preparing to attach a portkey to the bag that would send it straight to his office at Hogwarts, the shop owner stopped Minerva.

"Minerva, I almost forgot! One of my suppliers sent a new sweet with the last shipment. It is chocolate infused with catnip. It's made specifically for those who have a feline familiar or animagus form. This kind of chocolate is safe for animals, and you can eat it whether you are human or feline. Would you be interested in taking some with you to try?"

Minerva's eyes lit up in spite of herself when the shop owner said the word "catnip." Albus didn't miss the look and immediately reached for his money bag.

"How much?" he asked, his blue eyes lit with indulgent glee even as Minerva blushed again. Minerva had always been an independent woman, despite their years of marriage, and she had never become completely used to Albus buying her things for no reason at all save that she wanted them.

The shop owner pressed the entire bag into Albus's hands. "You are such a good customer that it's on me." He smiled at Minerva. "I always wanted to make my professor smile."

And Minerva did smile, patting the younger man's arm fondly. "You were a good boy, and you've become a good man." She paused, pretending frustration. "But I'm going to be the one stuck dealing with him when he's so full of sugar that he's bouncing off the walls!"

The shop owner laughed, Albus blushed though his eyes twinkled, and Minerva got the last word.


End file.
